Paula Abdul trips over dog, breaks nose

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul lost her balance while trying to avoid stepping on her pet Chihuahua at home and fell, breaking her nose and toe, her publicist said on Tuesday.

The accident on Saturday left Abdul, 44, known for her sometimes odd behavior on the popular U.S. television show, bruised and sore, but she will appear as scheduled on the final two episodes of this season's "American Idol" singing talent contest on Tuesday and Wednesday, spokesman David Brokaw said.

In a string of interviews on Monday to promote the Fox network's upcoming "Idol" finale, Abdul's injuries were hardly noticeable, thanks to makeup.

"If you didn't know better, you wouldn't know she had gone through anything," Brokaw said. "She's uncomfortable, but she looked great."

Abdul, a onetime professional cheerleader who gained fame in the late 1980s as a pop singer of such hits as "Straight Up," talked about her weekend mishap during an appearance on the syndicated celebrity TV show "Extra."

"I took a nasty fall ... trying not to hurt my dog. I bruised myself on my arm ... my chest, my waist, all the way down to my hip. All for my little chubby Tulip," she said.

Tulip was unscathed in the accident, Brokaw said.

Abdul, who has raised eyebrows for her periodically quirky, emotional demeanor on "American Idol," made headlines in January when a video surfaced of her slurring and gesticulating her way through a promotional TV appearance.

But her sunny disposition has proved the perfect counterpoint to the acerbic style of fellow judge Simon Cowell, and Fox executives credit her with much of the show's success.